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CHILDREN IN CARE
Arrangements have been made with the Children's Officer for the medical follow-up of
children on the Handicap and Observation Register who may be taken into care. As far as possible
the Children's Officer consults with the Health Department in advance, so that the child with a
major handicap may be placed where he can readily continue to have expert consultant advice and
his needs for training, physiotherapy, speech therapy, etc. can be met. In this way the necessity
for a second move of the child to make these essential services available, may be avoided. Where
such consultation cannot be made in advance, the Children's Officer notifies the Health Department
as soon as possible after the child has been placed.
SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF HANDICAP
(a) Deafness
A child who is suspected to have a hearing loss is referred by the clinic doctor to the Council's
consultant otologist at University College Hospital with the prior agreement of the general
practitioner. Appointments are arranged by a social worker of the Health Department who also
attends the hospital clinic. Health visitors provide full social reports of the child's family
background and follow-up failed appointments.
Children with a hearing loss may be recommended by the consultant otologist for part-time
attendance at a day nursery, especially in those families where the mother for various reasons
may be unable to give the child the necessary conversation practice he requires to help him to
learn to speak. All such referrals are given immediate consideration by the Principal Medical
Officer.
(b) Mentally retarded children
All children who appear to be mentally retarded have their hearing and vision tested. Some of
these children may be referred by the centre medical officer or reviewing medical officer to the
special advisory clinic undertaken by a doctor with special experience in this field; a mental
health social worker also attends. Special units for young children with general developmental
delay have been set up in Coram's Garden Day Nursery and the Lindfield Gardens Day Nursery
for mentally handicapped children (the latter being administered by the Camden Society for
Mentally Handicapped Children with financial and professional support from the Borough).
In such units, seriously retarded children can be observed by the doctor and trained staff,
and help and guidance to meet their individual needs provided. In this way a continuous assessment
of the child's developmental progress can be made. The child himself benefits from the
opportunities for free play and group activities with other groups of children in the nursery.
Similarly the severely physically handicapped child may have the opportunity to socialise
with other children and to make the best use of his residual assets.
Estimated number of children under 5 years 16,100
Number of children under 5 on Handicap and Observation Register 1,802 11 per cent.
Number of children under 5 years with known handicap 191 1 per cent.
It was expected nationally that the number of babies "at risk" was likely to be about 10
per cent, although in many areas it has proved to be much higher - even as high as 25 per cent. At
such a level a register may become unmanageable. At its best the follow-up of babies "at risk" is
an integrated service in which the local health authority, hospital and general practitioner services
must all play a part. The figures for this year in Camden seem to suggest that a good measure of
co-operation is being achieved for the benefit of the handicapped child and his family.
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